OTTAWA — Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Tuesday he’s concerned about the upheaval afflicting Afghanistan, but reiterated Canada’s commitment to keeping military trainers in the war-torn country through 2014.

“Is it having an effect? Absolutely,” MacKay said of the Canadian training mission on Tuesday. “This will be one of, if not the landmark accomplishments of Canada’s contribution in Afghanistan.”

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Many of Canada’s allies are struggling with how to respond after one of the worst months in recent Afghan history.

Anger erupted a few weeks ago after a video surfaced showing U.S. Marines urinating on the bodies of dead insurgents.

Protests then swept the country and several NATO troops were killed by Afghan soldiers when international troops unintentionally burned copies of the Koran.

All this before another U.S. soldier killed 16 Afghan civilians in a part of the southern Afghanistan once patrolled by Canadian forces.

The incidents have further hurt the already-tenuous relationship between Afghans and the international community, with some allies contemplating an early withdrawal or changes to what their troops are doing in Afghanistan.

MacKay indicated Canada is not about to end its mission, which involves 950 Canadian soldiers training their Afghan counterparts in Kabul and two other locations in central Afghanistan.

“We have to be concerned given the volatility and these very horrific recent events that have added to the tensions,” MacKay said during an appearance before the Commons’ defence committee. “As a result we have taken certain precautions, additional security measures.

“That’s not to say for a moment that we can ever eliminate the risk, but we want to create the atmosphere that is most conducive to training while at the same time protecting our personnel there and enabling them to do the support work.”

The recent events in Afghanistan have triggered questions about the discipline, behaviour and culture of the U.S. military.

MacKay, in contrast, said the Canadians “are imparting the type of discipline and professionalism that our soldiers themselves exhibit.

“I don’t say this in the context of what other countries do or as a reflection on recent events,” he added. “It’s simply to say that the Canadian soldiers have a very real way to bond with the trainees that they’re working with.”

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Liberal defence critic John McKay, whose party supported the training mission, said every incident involving an American or other allied troop puts Canadian forces at risk while endangering the work and sacrifice that has been already made.

“We spent billions and billions of dollars in Afghanistan, and we have 158 dead and hundreds with injures, but we don’t seem to be any closer,” he said.

“We might be approaching enough is enough. I don’t think we’re quite there yet, but I’m hoping that the senior leadership in our military and in our government has talked to our counterparts and been very blunt with them.”

NDP defence critic David Christopherson, however, said the incidents should be the last straw, and that as other countries change their timetable for withdrawal, Canada would be well-advised to do the same.

“The recent events in Afghanistan are certainly tragic and it certainly underscores the no-win situation,” he said. “It is time for our troops to come home.”